This invention relates generally to the field of footwear and more specifically to new and useful convertible footwear. There are many different types of footwear, which are designed for different types of utility and aesthetics. Two common types of footwear are shoes and boots, the primary distinguishing factor being that boots cover parts of the leg that shoes do not. For numerous reasons, including weather, fashion, and utility, a person may desire a boot rather than a shoe, or vice versa. Typically, footwear is either a shoe or a boot, but not a single apparatus designed to convert from one into the other. Therefore, when a person wishes to change from a shoe to a boot, or vice versa, that person must have both a shoe and a boot. It is inconvenient and costly for a person to acquire and store both types of footwear, which may often be in the same style. And it is even more cumbersome for a person to carry both types of footwear on his or her person should it be desirable to change footwear without, for instance, returning home.
Prior art systems have addressed this issue by using upper sections that can be attached to or removed from a shoe to create a boot when desired. An example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,863,406. Another example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0186259. The problem with these systems is that the upper section cannot be attached or removed while a person is currently wearing the shoe. This is because the upper section is configured like a tube that the wearer must slide their leg into. Thus, a person wearing the shoe must remove the shoe when converting from a shoe to a boot or vice versa.
In order to allow a person wearing a shoe to convert to a boot, and vice versa, without having to remove the shoe, prior art systems have configured upper sections that split or separate such that they wrap around the wearer's leg. However, these systems require multiple couplings—one coupling between the upper section and the shoe, and another coupling to hold the upper section together when wrapped around the leg. One example of such a system uses two zippers, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,087,260. Another example of such a system uses a plurality of buttons and laces, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 9,065,831. These types of systems are overly cumbersome to the wearer, require more components, and are more difficult to conceal.
Thus, there is a need for a convertible footwear apparatus that can convert from a shoe to a boot, and vice versa, without a person wearing the shoe having to remove the shoe and without needing multiple coupling mechanisms that needlessly overburden both the manufacturer and the wearer.